Second man trapped in flat, say police as siege enters fourth day

A siege in London involving an armed man trapped in a flat entered its fourth day yesterday as police revealed there was a second man with the gunman.

Rooftop snipers and more than 60 heavily armed police and negotiators remained outside the address in Hackney, east London, after a man shot at police trying to tow away his car for scientific examination on Boxing Day morning.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said the man had come to the window and remonstrated with police, who withdrew from the area and called for armed help. When armed officers arrived and attempted to raid the property, the man shot at them but they escaped unharmed.

Scotland Yard was unable to say whether the other man in the first-floor flat was a hostage or an accomplice.

The man's car, a Toyota Celica, was being taken in connection with an incident in Soho in August in which he was stopped by police, became agitated and fired a shot, police said. In that case, the man, who is in his thirties, had escaped in his car and been chased by four police officers.

Louise Oldfield, who lives in Hackney, said yesterday that the man had fired five shots at police when the siege began. In turn, she said, officers had fired back about 20 times. "The neighbours I have spoken to said it was like the OK Corral gunfight," Ms Oldfield said. But a spokeswoman for Scotland Yard could not confirm how many shots had been fired.

Police had a breakthrough on Saturday when, after negotiations, the man dropped a gun through a window. "[But] we believe he might have other firearms in the house," a spokeswoman said.

Twelve houses were evacuated on the day the siege began and the surrounding roads were closed off.

Yesterday, the armed officers remained at the scene and residents were being escorted in and out of their homes by armed police, Ms Oldfield said. She added: "It's been going on so long that even police are pessimistic."

Superintendent John Bobin of Hackney police said: "We are working diligently towards a peaceful resolution of this incident."